


Who's the freak now? Yes you Dudley Dursley

by DarkAngel394



Series: The Blood of Magic [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Good Dursleys, Het and Slash, M/M, Magical Dudley, OOC, Slytherin Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-02-20 17:18:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2436680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAngel394/pseuds/DarkAngel394
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dudley had inherited his aunt’s magic much to the surprise of his parents. But now with his cousin at his side Harry’s time at Hogwarts and well, life in general could turn out completely different than planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Revelations

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone so I see you've come across my new story, it may become the first one of a series depending on how the story evolves and the response to it. So a few warnings, some of the characters may be OOC because of the storyline and how it differs canonically and there will be eventual slash 
> 
> So happy reading

Chapter 1- Revelations 

What horrified Mr and Mrs Dursley most was that their charming, perfect son, the best in the world, had magic.

It all started in early July 1988

Dudley had been playing in the back garden of Number 4 Privet Drive, when it was revealed to the oldest of the Evans’ sisters. Dudley had suddenly turned one of Petunia’s roses into a bright blue ball. Petunia was thankful that her husband was at work and her freak of a nephew was upstairs cleaning Dudley’s second bedroom.

“Mummy, mummy, look what I did, look what I did” said the eight year old as he half ran half waddled towards Petunia. Petunia didn’t know how to react she certainly did NOT want another freak in the family.

Calm down, Petunia, calm down, you can do this, he’s your only son, your only child you can’t treat him like dirt 

“How wonderful, my darling didykins” she said in a false sweetness enveloping her son in a hug.

“Bet the freak can’t do that!” Dudley said proudly, “I’m gonna show him right now” and Dudley ran off up to his second bedroom to torment his cousin. But the problem was the freak could do that, he had been doing accidental magic for the past year and she and Vernon did not know how to stop it. Vernon, what would she tell Vernon? Couldn’t she just keep it a secret from him? Wouldn’t it be better for her family? 

“If a witch’s magic is bottled up for too long, she can put herself and everyone around her in danger” she remembered the old wizard Albus Dumbledore tell her parents when Lily was accepted into that school.

She sighed and ambled back into the living room, trying to think how she was going to tell her husband that Dudley was a freak like the boy. She sat on the sofa thinking for what seemed like hours about hours it was oddly quiet without the TV roaring in her ears.

But I can’t treat Dudley like I do with Harry, freak or not, He is MY son and I will not treat him the same I way I do with the boy because of it… Wait, the boy has magic too, I can’t treat them differently when they both have magic, the only reason why I hated the boy was that he had the freakish curse my sister had and now Dudley has it too. I have to change the way this whole family treats the boy- Harry, I have to call him Harry now. Oh boy, Vernon is not going to like this.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!” One of the boys screamed. Petunia ran from the sofa to Dudley’s second bedroom and found her nephew soaking wet, shivering like a Chihuahua. This was obviously Dudley’s fault.  
“I- I’m sorry, Aunt P-Petunia” the boy stammered, “I’ll clean it up right away, or after you punish me, whatever you prefer”

That made Petunia’s heart sink, had she really been that cruel to him? She was sure he got food, water, shelter, clothes, an education. What else would a child need? Then it hit her, she had never been nice to Harry in the six years under her care, she had never shown him any affection, any praise any acknowledgement at all unless the house was dirty or there was no food. Her attitude had to change and this was the time to do it. She would have to talk to Vernon and Dudley later.

“Harry, can you tell me what happened please?” Petunia asked in her calmest voice. The green eyes widened in surprise, but Harry regained himself quickly.

“Er, um, I uh, was cleaning and there was a, a, a bucket of water on the top shelf and I tried to get up there and I must’ve knocked the bucket of water and it fell on me. I’m sorry, Aunt Petunia, I’ll clean it up right now” said Harry way too quickly. Petunia knew he was lying, there was no bucket entangled in the room packed to the rafters with Dudley’s toys which have never been used and none of the floor was wet except for around Harry.

“Harry, don’t lie to me… please” said Petunia trying to be as nice to Harry as possible. This was as hard as she expected 

“He’s telling the truth, mummy, honest, just let him clean it up I want to play with my toys” Dudley whined. 

“Dudley did you do this?” asked Petunia sternly, both Harry and Dudley looked shocked, Petunia NEVER punished Dudley and always blamed Harry for his wrongdoings.

“No, the freak told you what happened” Dudley whined again.

“Dudley, the truth, now” Petunia said in her stern tone usually reserved for her nephew. Dudley looked too surprised for his own good.

“Alright, fine” Dudley growled, looking all too much like his father, “You know how I turned that rose into a ball, well, I went up to the freak to show him and then when I walked in a toy was going to fall on top of him and I might’ve turned it into water” 

Harry looked away obviously scared about what she was going to do.

“Harry is that the truth?” she asked. Harry nodded. Petunia had to think about her next words carefully, if this had happened yesterday she would’ve made Harry clean up his mess and go to the cupboard under the stairs but now with her son’s confession, she was going to do something she never had before and with out permission of her husband.

“Dudley, I want you to clean up this whole room and throw away the toys you don’t need or play with-

“But that’s the freak’s jo-

“You will, put them into boxes and bring them downstairs which we will sell, I want this room clean by tomorrow” Petunia ignored Dudley’s interruption.

“But that’s not fair, mummy, that’s the freak’s job, why do I have to do it?” Dudley practically yelled, his face going red, he was going to have a tantrum and for the first time, Petunia would have to ignore him. 

“Dudley, this is your second bedroom, heaven forbid why I agreed to give it to you, you need to have it clean and the toys you don’t use packed away by tomorrow evening or you won’t be given dinner for a week” Petunia finalised her deal.

“But-

“I would start now, Dudley,” Petunia turned to her nephew who looked particularly startled about the turn of events, this made Petunia feel guilty, why had she treated Lily’s son this way and not like Dudley? She did not know but she would not let anyone else take the blame.

“Harry, I want you to get yourself cleaned up and meet me downstairs in half an hour. I have things I need to discuss with both you and your uncle” she said in a gentle tone. Harry looked up at Petunia, green eyes filled with confusion so much like her sister’s were that it made Petunia feel a pang of guilt once more. 

“Yes, Aunt Petunia” said Harry obediently and walked downstairs to his cupboard. Petunia sighed as she saw the scrawny boy walk away and then turned to her son who looked clueless as to what to do. Then she felt disgusted, her boy was borderline obese, and was a spoilt brat, she usually judged other parents for spoiling their kids but she was the worst one and now that had changed ever so slightly. 

 

She heard the front door open then slam shut with loud footsteps following, her husband was home, and she had to tell him now or never.


	2. There is Such Thing as Magic... Apparently

Nothing could dampen Vernon Dursley’s mood, not even the freakish Potter boy. He had just been promoted to the manager of a company that made drills, he could not wait to tell his wife and have dinner out with her and his perfect son, nothing could ruin this day… that was until he saw his wife’s expression when she greeted him.

“Oh, Darling, welcome home” she said in a false sweetness in which she used for the parents of Dudley’s friends and kissed him on the cheek. Her expression showed nothing but dread and that could only mean one thing.

“That boy’s done that thing again, hasn’t he? Hasn’t he!” Vernon yelled, oh how he hated the tumour on his family. 

“No, but I do need to talk to talk to you, about him” Petunia said hesitantly. That made Vernon’s blood boil, he hated the freak, there was nothing “normal” about him, he was an abomination to society as were his parents, why on earth would Petunia need to talk to him about it, they had already decided what was going to happen seven years ago, ignore the boy, keep him alive and hope the thing goes away.

“Why?” Vernon scowled. 

“It’s related to Dudley” Petunia said quietly. The fact that the boy had something to do with his son made Vernon’s blood boil, he knew that his face would be red and the vein on his forehead would be pulsing but he cares for his son and if some freakish kid would harm him then Vernon would act upon it.

“What. Did. He. Do. To. Him” Vernon said through gritted teeth trying not to blow.

“Nothing, dear, nothing, it’s actually about what Dudley did to Harry-

“Why the heck are you calling him Harry now, eh?” The boy was a freak and did not deserve a name.

“Because he is my nephew and I am not going to treat him like crap because he has magic” Petunia sounded rather angry. But why the sudden change of heart? She’s been treating him same for the past six and a half years.

“Why?” 

“Vernon, I think you should sit down” She led him through the threshold and into the living room. This made Vernon was even more confused than before and he was about to lose his temper. Can she just let it out already?  
“Alright, well, um,” Petunia stuttered, Vernon knew that this was big, did the boy finally leave, was this going to be officially the best day of his life?

“Spit it out, love” said Vernon getting comfortable on the lounge chair

“You know how Harry has magic”

“DO NOT SAY THAT WORD IN MY HOUSE!” Vernon couldn’t control himself, he hated it, he hated magic it’s what put the burden on his family, if there was no such thing as magic then the boy’s parents would still be alive and then they wouldn’t have even knew the boy existed, or better still the boy wouldn’t have existed.

“Well, you better get used to it Vernon Dursley, because your son has it too” Petunia scowled. 

At that moment, Vernon thought he was going to faint, he didn’t know how to react. Surely this was just a joke! There was no way Dudley was a freak like the boy. Petunia sat next her husband and held his lumps of hands and smiled sympathetically at him, that was the smile that made Vernon Dursley fall in love with then Petunia Evans.

“I’ll tell you what happened” Petunia said calmly and she explained the days events. Vernon followed and though he’d hate to admit it, he felt proud of his son for having such a gift at a young age. 

“But also there’s one thing I have to ask of you” said Petunia after her recount.

“Anything” said Vernon.

“You will still love our son, even though he is different?” Petunia asked, where was she going with this?

“Yes of course, I would love him if he were purple and blue with green hair, he’s my blood” said Vernon.

“So your not going to lock him up in a cupboard, and barely give him any food or attention because he has magic?” Asked Petunia. Ok where was she going with this?

“Why would I do that, he’s a human being, he may be different but he doesn’t deserve to be treated like a criminal” said Vernon having no clue where this was going.

“Then why did you let that happen to Harry?” asked Petunia.

Truth be told he only did it because the boy scared him, he was different, too different and that terrified him but now he was the same as Dudley, there was no excuse as to why he treated Harry he did especially now, and he knew what Petunia was getting at and that was confirmed in what she said 

“Vernon, we have treated him horribly just because he has magic, because I was jealous of my sister, because we were scared, we have to treat Harry like a member of the family” said Petunia. 

Unfortunately for Vernon, he had to agree, there was no point in denying it. They had wrongfully treated Harry for the past seven years and that would stop hopefully tomorrow.

“So when will this sudden change occur?” asked Vernon.

“Right now” said Petunia. 

What! At least let me sleep on it, for Christ’s sake, woman. I can’t just go from hating the boy to loving him in two seconds!

“Harry, are you ready yet?” Petunia called.

“Yes, Aunt Petunia” the boy- Harry replied. 

“Can you come in here, please” said Petunia.

The boy walked in stopping in front of Vernon

“Good evening, Uncle Vernon” He said respectfully. After Petunia’s little lecture he could see the damage done, the boy was as skinny as a stick that was only emphasised by Dudley’s hand-me-downs that were far to big for him, the broken glasses that only repaired by tape and that the boy looked like a frightened dog as he addressed him. But Vernon refused to feel guilty, not yet, or did he already feel guilty? Vernon couldn’t tell.

“Hello, Harry” Vernon replied with great difficulty. The boy looked shocked, yep there was that sense of guilt.

“Harry sit down, I have something to tell you” said Petunia. Harry obeyed and sat in the one seater opposite Petunia as Vernon took up most of the three seater. Petunia crouched down in front of the boy.

“You must be confused about the sudden change of attitude” Said Petunia calmly and gently as if she were talking to a young child, then Vernon remembered Harry was only seven, oh look its that feeling of guilt again. 

“Kind of” Said Harry quietly.

“We’re sorry, Harry, for the way we’ve treated you, you haven’t deserved anything of what you got, we’re going to treat you as part of the family now, as we should have from the very start,” Petunia began.

“Now we also have to tell you the actual truth about you and your parents, we think your old enough to know now”

“Why, what’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with my parents? Were they criminals like Uncle Vernon said, I promise Aunt Petunia I will not be like them” Harry said practically on the verge of tears. Vernon looked down as his wife gave him a death stare.

“No Harry, your parents were not criminals, they were good people” Petunia explained, “I was jealous and scared of your mother and that made me think badly of her and you and those thoughts and feelings passed on to your uncle, But Harry, but I’m past that, I regret treating you and your mother horribly, we are truly sorry, aren’t we Vernon?” Vernon looked up to see Petunia sternly looking at him and Harry looking innocently at him, he had no choice, he had to say yes even though it was only partially true. 

“Yes, Harry, we are very sorry” Said Vernon, Harry’s eyes widened whether in happiness or surprise he could not tell, although Vernon suddenly felt warm inside, probably indigestion.

“Now Harry, the reason why we were scared of you, why I was scared of your mother was that, you can do magic, you’re a wizard, Harry” said Petunia. The look on the boy’s face was priceless.

“But, you said magic doesn’t exist, Uncle Vernon said it doesn’t exist” said Harry.

“That’s because I was scared, Harry, but now I see you have a wonderful gift” said Petunia. Harry smiled, Vernon had never seen the boy smile, it made Vernon feel that warmness again, gosh he really needed to see a doctor about this indigestion.

“But, Harry, not all people with magic are good, your mother and father were good wizards but, some aren’t and those bad witches and wizards are what killed your parents” said Petunia solemnly. Vernon struggled to remember why that wizard killed the boy’s parents in the first place, he kind of wished that he didn’t throw that letter that the old fool wrote away.

“But, I, I thought they died in a car crash” Harry said looking from Petunia to Vernon and back to Petunia.

“No Harry, we lied. When you were a baby, this wizard, Voldemort, I think his name was, killed your parents with a spell, and he tried to kill you too, but the spell rebounded and it killed him instead, that’s why you have that little scar on your forehead” Petunia explained. Harry looked shocked, obviously not knowing how to react to the fact that his guardians had lied to him and that the way they were killed was more brutal than a car crash. Another unfamiliar feeling came to Vernon at this moment, sympathy, for the first time in forever he felt sorry for the boy. God don’t let this become a habbit.  
“Are you okay, Harry, this is a lot to take in” Said Petunia. Harry nodded

“But why have you told me this now? There must’ve been some reason behind it, if you don’t mind me asking” said Harry. 

“Harry, you do not need permission to ask a question, it’s only natural to be curious now we are suddenly all nice to you after seven years” Vernon was surprised to hear the words come out of his own mouth. As were the other two in the room, he decided to continue, “It turns out that Dudley is a wizard as well, he inherited it from your mother, so we thought that this was the best time to change our ways to teach you both that magic is real and can be a good thing or a bad thing” said Vernon. 

“Oh, okay,” said Harry. 

“Do you have any other questions, Harry?” Asked Petunia.

“Not right now” said Harry.

“Right well, tomorrow morning we’ll go to the shops, you need new clothes, look absolutely hideous in Dudley’s hand-me-downs, and no nephew of mine will look like that,” Petunia began. “Secondly, you won’t be living in that cot under the stairs, your new bedroom will be Dudley’s second bedroom and thirdly you will join us for all meals and family outings and gatherings no hiding away, you are part of the family” said Petunia. Vernon was about to argue with that, but then remembered what his wife had just explained to him minutes before, Harry had to be treated like a human, whether Vernon liked it or not

“But what about Dudley?” Harry asked.

“We’ll deal with Dudley, and I want both of you to make an effort to become friends, you will both share chores and no taking responsibility for Dudley’s actions” Said Petunia.

“Yes, Aunt Petunia, thank you” said Harry.

“Why don’t you go outside and play while I put dinner on” Said Petunia.

“Yes, Aunt Petunia” Said Harry and walked outside into the yard. Petunia got up off the floor and sat next to Vernon putting her bony hands in his large ones.

“Thank you, I know how much this changes things for you” she whispered

“I know, it’s the least I can do but how are we going to tell Dudley, he won’t be as willing as us” Said Vernon, trying his hardest to accept the sudden change that had just occurred in his life, “Speaking of which where is Dudley, I would’ve sworn he would be planted in front of the TV right now.

“He’s cleaning his second bedroom, he’s not to come out until it’s done, it’s his punishment for what he’s done to Harry” Answered Petunia. 

Vernon felt slightly enraged, he would’ve made the boy- Harry- do it, made sure that he was punished for his son’s actions if Petunia had not revealed this… interesting… bit of information about Dudley. But now Harry and Dudley had to be treated equally and that was going to take a long while for Vernon to get use to. 

“Fair enough” Vernon grunted. 

“Thank you, dear, now I best put dinner on, we’ll tell Dudley tomorrow” Said Petunia and kissed Vernon on the cheek. Vernon watched as she walked into the kitchen and sighed. This was not going to be easy.


	3. You're a wizard Dudley

“This is not fair” Dudley complained to himself as he attempted to clean up his second bedroom. He thought Mummy would reward his tricks with some ice cream or chocolate, or that the freak would get into trouble for what Dudley did, like what usually had happened. But, no, Mummy had to make sure the freak was okay and that Dudley was punished. 

Wait, the freak could do tricks as well, Dudley remembered last year when Mummy shaved all of the freak’s hair off and it grew back to normal the next day or that time the freak suddenly flew to the roof when Dudley was chasing him. They could both do tricks, but could the freak turn things into water? Or turn a rose into a ball? Dudley didn’t think so.

After about half an hour (or what felt like it) Dudley had an idea.

“Hey, maybe I could clean the room with tricks” Dudley said to himself. He started pointing at the various objects and speaking absolute gibberish then remembered the spells that people used on movies of TV shows.

“Abra Cadabra!” 

Nothing Happened 

“Bibity Bopity Boo!” 

Again, nothing happened.

Dudley was getting frustrated. Was this a one off thing? Did he use all of his magic in one day? No, it was not fair! Not fair! Dudley needed to be better than the freak. 

Suddenly one of his toy cars that he got for his birthday flew into the box that was for toys to be thrown away, then his tattered old teddy bear which had since he was born followed.

“HA, let’s see if the freak can do that!” Dudley exclaimed loudly to himself. Mummy would be so proud of him when she saw how quickly Dudley had cleaned his second bedroom. 

For the next half an hour, toys from all stages of Dudley’s childhood flew into the boxes whilst Dudley was feeling far too pleased with himself. Now the cream coloured room was empty and for the first time in about six years the beige coloured carpet could be seen. 

Great, now he could have Dinner! Dudley practically ran down the stairs hoping that the dust from the cupboard’s ceiling would fall on top of the freak as he did. Except it didn’t, as Dudley turned into the kitchen he saw something he’d thought he would never see, the freak was sitting at the dining table eating steak and potatoes with his parents instead his usual cold can of soup that he ate in his cupboard. This made Dudley absolutely furious for the second time today. Maybe he could throw a tantrum to get the freak back into the cupboard where he belonged.

“Dudley, I told you not to come back down until you finished cleaning that room” said Mummy as she dished some potatoes onto Harry’s plate, not even looking at her own son! 

“What’s HE doing here?” Dudley scowled. He did not want the freak here. Petunia sighed.

“Harry is part of the family, he’s entitled to share meals with us” Petunia answered, but that wasn’t good enough for Dudley. He wanted to get his way and he ALWAYS got his way.

“No he isn’t he’s a FREAK! He’s an alien! He doesn’t deserve to live! You and Daddy said so” yelled Dudley, hopefully that was enough to sway his parents to let him have his way.

“There’s been a change of situation which means what we’ve said before is completely and utterly wrong which results in Harry being treated and accepted as part of the family as he should have when he arrived here” Vernon said not looking away from his paper that he was reading. 

What situation? What has the freak done to Dudley’s parents?  
“What have you done to them, freak!” Dudley more yelled than asked. The freak looked down.

“Aunt Petunia, if you want I could go-

“You will do no such thing” Petunia interrupted the freak’s soft words, she then turned towards Dudley “Harry has done nothing to us, Dudley, as we’ve explained before, Harry is part of the family now and you will treat him like he is, we all will” Petunia said as she took her place at the table. This was the last resort, this was the only way to get the freak back to where he should be. It was tantrum time.

“IT’S NOT FAIR!” Dudley yelled in a high pitch scream, “YOU LOVE THE FREAK MORE THAN ME! YOU DIDN’T MAKE THE FREAK CLEAN UP MY SECOND BEDROOM! YOU DIDN’T REWARD ME FOR DOING MY TRICKS! YOU HATE ME JUST BECAUSE I CAN DO TRICKS AND YOU CAN’T!” The kitchen window smashed as he finished screaming. Dudley looked at his mother and the look on her face frightened Dudley, she had never looked at him like that before. Uh oh.

“Aunt Petunia, it’s okay, he can have my dinner” the freak said very quickly. Dudley saw Daddy glance a look of warning to Harry and he suddenly slid down in his chair.

“Dudley Vernon Dursley!” Petunia said loudly in tone which made Dudley feel a chill down his spine. “We do not love Harry more than you, in fact we are attempting to love you both equally as we have loved you more for over eight years. It is your second bedroom which means it is your responsibility not Harry’s and no I do not hate you, I love you, Dudley but right now you are acting like a spoilt brat and that’s mostly my fault for treating you that way” 

Dudley started to cry, he didn’t mean to make Petunia angry, truly. He just wanted his way as he usually got it, he was not a spoilt brat! Amanda Nottingham from school was a spoilt brat, she got all the toys she wanted, all the pets she wanted anything she wanted, she got. Dudley never had that privilege. So he thought.

“Dudley, you will bring down all of your toys from your second bedroom then go back there and think about what you have done, you will come out when you are ready to act like a big boy, you are not three years old anymore. We will explain everything to you in the morning”

“But-

“Now, Dudley Dursley or you won’t get any meals at all tomorrow” said Petunia coolly.

Dudley knew better than to argue despite popular belief. He did as his mother told him, he stayed in his second bedroom well into midnight thinking about his little, well, massive tantrum.

But I wasn’t wrong, Mummy and Daddy suddenly started treating the freak like, like family and not as the freak, what was I supposed to do just accept it… and what the hell is going on? What is this situation? Is it because I can do tricks? Is it because they’re scared of me!

Dudley’s thoughts were disrupted by a quiet knock on the door, and it wasn’t Petunia’s or Vernon’s knock. 

“Dudley, are you awake” said the freak’s voice. Bugger treating the freak as part of the family! He was annoyed at him and he would let that be known.

“Piss off, freak” Said Dudley, turning away from the door.

“I just wanted to say, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset or grab Aunt Petunia’s and Uncle Vernon’s attention” Said the freak, Dudley wasn’t going to buy it.

“I said go away, Potter!”

There was a moment’s silence before the freak spoke again. 

“I saw what you did this afternoon, turning that rose into a ball, it was really cool”

This made Dudley’s ears perk up. He loved flattery as much as his mother.

“Yeah it was, wasn’t it?” Said Dudley. He was so tempted to open the door and talk to the freak about tricks and brag and gloat.

“And to be fair the water thing was actually quite funny” said Harry. Huh really? Dudley thought he would’ve hated it and that’s why he’d done it in the first place. And the freak was trying to do?

“What do you want, freak” Dudley snapped. 

“Just thought you’d want to know, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon have gone to bed. You can go back to your first bedroom now, if you want” Said the freak, Dudley couldn’t trace any disappointment in his voice and was again annoyed, was the freak now immune to Dudley’s taunts? And how did he know that he wasn’t lying? He probably just wants to get him into trouble!

Dudley heard his cousin walk down the stairs and sighed. Maybe, the freak wasn’t lying and he took the effort to come up and tell Dudley and also compliment him and Dudley was not going to fall asleep on the hard carpet. He slowly got up off the floor and made his way to the door, tiptoed town the hallway constantly looking for his parents as he went. As got into bed he instantly fell asleep, forgetting about what would occur in the morning.  
*-*

“Dudley, can you come down here please” his mother called from downstairs. Dudley rolled over like a beached whale and looked at the clock. It was only 9:30 on a summer morning, who in their right mind would wake up at this hour!

“Why?” Dudley yelled back.

“We need to talk to you” Petunia replied. Dudley groaned and struggled off the bed and got dressed, there was no way that his mum would let him go back to bed. He started thinking about this big, important talk. Was the freak finally going away? Is that why his parents had been acting so nice to the freak yesterday? The thought made him run downstairs in an instant hoping that he disturbed the freak as he went. If this was the freak’s last day in his house then Dudley better make the most of what time he had left to torment him.

He found his mother and father sitting at the circular dining table, the freak was nowhere in sight.

“Dudley, please sit down” Petunia said gesturing at the chair opposite her. Dudley did as he was told, he wanted to hear that the freak was going away as soon as possible.

“Now, how you acted last night was absolutely unacceptable” Petunia began. Dudley couldn’t believe it. He was in trouble again!

“Bu-

“Dudley, you will listen to what I have to tell you, then you can have your say” said Petunia giving Dudley that stern look that he had only seen being used on the freak. “You know how you turned that flower into a ball yesterday?” Dudley nodded, “And you know how Harry can do that too?”, Dudley nodded only to make his mother happy, he would throw a tantrum once she finished.  
“That’s because you both have magic” Petunia said waiting for Dudley’s reaction.

Wait, what? Dad said there was no such thing as magic! 

“How- what” where the only words Dudley could get out. 

His mother explained how her sister, the freak’s mother was a witch and that genetic had passed onto him and how he and the freak were both wizards… which meant they were both freaks…

“I AM NOT LIKE THE FREAK!” Dudley yelled. He was not going to be compared to that scum.

“Oh yes you are, Dudley” Dudley was surprised to hear his father say that. What was it? Gang up on Dudley Dursley Day?  
Dudley calmed down knowing that it was absolutely pointless to argue. It was just confusing about how they could just suddenly change their attitude towards the freak in a matter of hours.

Petunia then went on explaining about how she was jealous of her sister’s magic and that’s what made her hate the freak. She then went on to explain how the freak’s parents died and that made her afraid of magic. Which then lead to the freak being treated, well, like a freak should be, she hated the freak because he had magic. 

“But does that mean you hate me too? Because I have magic!” Dudley cried, he knew how the freak was treated because of it, he did not want to be treated like he was, it was horrible, barely any food and constant punishment! He would rather have his magic revoked.

“No, dear, of course not, you are still human” said Petunia in her sympathetic tone that she usually used on Dudley. “But, you see, we can’t treat Harry like that either, the only thing that separated you two was magic, but now you both have it so we can’t treat you and Harry differently, like we chose to before” Petunia explained. This was very confusing.

“So, you’re saying that you treated Potter like a freak because he had magic and now I have magic so you suddenly start treating him nicely. That’s stupid, you should’ve kept treating him like a freak or be nice to him from the beginning” Dudley said, he was kind of hurt that his parents would abuse Harry just for having magic and though he would NEVER admit it in a million years he regretted bullying his cousin.

“Yes, it was stupid, but we have learnt and we are going to pay the price, and we are going to treat you and try to love you equally. Arent we, Vernon?” His mother asked pointedly at his father. Vernon looked like he was not happy with this .

“Yes, of course, dear” Vernon answered and went back to silently sulking.

“Now,” Petunia turned back to Dudley, “You do realise, you have to call him Harry now, not “freak”” Petunia stated, Dudley nodded, “and that you will share chores” Dudley did not like this term but nodded, he could use magic for it like he did yesterday. The next two terms he did not like at all

“You will also be friends with Harry”

“WHAT!” Dudley yelled, okay that was impossible, as much as Dudley felt sorry for him because of what his parents did, it was not going to happen.

“Not immediately but eventually. I also want you to stop any bullying that happens at school, especially within your group” said Petunia, Dudley sighed. All spirit to argue had diminished. He would have to just deal with it and hope for the best.

“And you will give Harry your second bedroom” Petunia stated her last term. As Dudley looked at all his unwanted toys stacked in the hallway he knew that having a second bedroom was pointless. What did his mother’s conversation do to him?

“Alright” said Dudley in defeat.

“Good, thank you so much, Pumpkin” Said Petunia, now can you go get Harry, we need to go out. Dudley sighed and got up and went to the cupboard.

“Oi, fr- Harry, get ready, we’re going out soon” Dudley yelled, as he sat down in the living room to watch cartoons. He knew his life would never be the same. This whole family wouldn’t be the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? Yeah I know the Dursleys are adapting to this change very quickly but it's all part of the story and will be explained in later chapters. Also warning the Dursleys will be OOC from the next chapter onwards. Don't be afraid to leave a comment


	4. The Diary of Miss Erica Daniels

September 1988

Miss Erica Daniels looked in dread at the single piece of paper lying on her desk, which had been taunting her for the past month or so, it was the list of Year 4 students she would be taking on this year. She had already planned the first term of lessons that would commence in the morning. What she didn’t want to know was who was going to be in her class for the next year, she just hoped to God that she did not get children like Dudley Dursley or Piers Polkis again, it was bad enough to deal with them last year. Knowing that it would be no good to try and learn the names of any new children ten minutes before class she decided to look at the list of the thirty students she would take on this year

Benjamin Adams  
Not bad, a quiet little boy if last year was anything to go by

Miku Amaki: Just moved from Japan, low English skills, ESL classes thrice a week  
Oh, well, a challenge is better than no challenge at all

Cassandra Boskovokic: High achiever  
Really hope I can pronounce her name tomorrow 

Eric Bell  
Never had him

The next seven children she had never taught before and she quite liked her class until she hit the D surnames

Gordon Denver  
No, well if he’s not with Dudley then it shouldn’t be a problem

Dudley Dursley

That was the child she was most dreading as were every other teacher, they all hated the Dursleys with the exception of Headmaster Smith, he thought that they were a delightful family. The Dursleys, in her opinion, were foul people who really deserved to go to hell and don’t get her started on last year’s parent-teacher night. Dudley was, in all ways, a teacher’s worse nightmare.

She continued down the list of names with more exclaims of “thank god” until she hit the P surnames  
Piers Polkis  
Seriously, who makes the classes, putting Dudley Dursley, Piers Polkis and Gordon Denver is just asking for hell. Erica would have to put up with it if she was to survive until June. The next name then caught her eye.

Harry Potter

Erica had not taught the boy since Year 2, he was quiet, too quiet, never spoke to the other children despite her efforts. It was only when he came in sporting a black eye, limping and multiple gashes across his cheek and arm that she knew why and that only made her hate the Dursleys more, they had used this poor child as a punching bag and a slave from what she gathered the talk they had after class.

Flashback:

“Harry, can you come here, please” Erica asked after the home time bell had rung.

“I really can’t, Miss, I have to be home before my Aunt and Uncle or-“ He had stopped himself short. Erica knew the signs of abuse even though she had only been a teacher for only a year before then

“Before what, Harry?” She asked calmly. He needed her to know that he was going to be okay that she would not put him in danger.

“So, I can, uh, um, uh… give them… uh their birthday presents” He obviously lied.

“Okay then, I won’t keep you long” She had to made sure he believed her, otherwise he could be put in more danger. He seemed to relax a little.

“Where did you get those scars, Harry, I could’ve sworn you didn’t have them yesterday” She asked casually. She knew the signs, it was obvious by her previous answer and the look in those emerald eyes when she asked about those injuries. 

“I fell down stairs and on top of my Aunt Marge’s bulldog who then bit me” He looked straight at her. This was obviously a story imbedded in him by his guardians.

“Harry, please, don’t lie to me, I’m only trying to help” Erica told him.

“I’m not, Miss Daniels, it’s the truth, my aunt and uncle are treating me the way I deserve to be treated” Harry shrugged. Miss Daniels wasn’t dumb, she knew what was going on.

“Is that all, Miss?” Harry asked.

“Yes, Harry, you may go, I’ll see you tomorrow” 

As soon as she said the words, the boy, far too little for his age, was out the door.

~End Flashback

She had obviously filed that Harry Potter had been abused multiple times throughout the past two years even though he wasn’t in her class last year. She knew that it didn’t get past the principal and was obviously rejected by the school board and even the Children’s Services Department which she turned to as a last resort when she saw Harry just before the holidays. Nothing had happened. She made a mental note to keep an eye on Harry and the Dursleys throughout the year and continued down the list of children’s names ending with a new student named Blaise Zabini and went to bed dreading the next day.

-*-*-*-

“So we’re in the same class, that will make mum happy,” said Dudley.

“Yeah, look, are we…” Harry whispered the last of the question so that no one else could hear including Erica to which Dudley nodded. She had made some interesting observations in the first three hours of the school day

One, the physical states of both Dudley and Harry. Dudley had lost a lot of weight over the summer making him look less like a walrus and more like a boy and Harry had gained some weight and looked a lot healthier and happier and was actively playing with the other boys during recess. Two Harry and Dudley seemed friendly to each other compared to Dudley’s constant bulling of his cousin which consisted of him chasing, physically and verbally attacking Harry and sticking his head down the toilet. 

Again, Headmaster Smith turned a blind eye to the Dursleys no matter how many teachers reported bullying or abuse related to him, which was odd for the old teacher as he had always dealt with abuse or bullying in a strict manner. Erica remembered when a famous reporter’s daughter attended the school and was massive bully which eventually led to her expulsion last year and the reporter and the headmaster were on good terms until then. Why were the Dursleys any different?

And three, Harry had more confidence, Erica could see it, he was even befriending the new students Miku and Blaise he even was talking to Dudley’s group of friends which made her heart sank. She did not need a troublemaker in her class.

“C’mon, Harry, I would’ve gave up ages ago if I really didn’t want to-

“Shhh!” Harry cut off his cousin’s words.

What on Earth was going on with that family? 

Erica told herself to keep her nose out of their business unless one of them were in danger.

 

February 1989

Parent-teacher night, the most dreaded time of the school year for all teachers at Little Whinging Primary School, but especially for Miss Erica Daniels who had the difficult task of the Dursleys. Erica spent most of the day hearing false sympathies from her fellow staff that sniggered at the fact that they weren’t the unlucky ones.

It was 5 o’clock, the Dursleys’ scheduled time to meet with her. She sighed fiddling with her papers to find the ones for Dudley and Harry, even though she was sure that they wouldn’t even ask about him. Sure enough, ten minutes later than scheduled, the Dursley couple strutted into the classroom. 

“Mr Dursley, Mrs Dursley” Erica greeted them, shaking their hands.

“Miss Daniels, good to see you again,” Said Mrs Dursley in a fake, sweet tone. Once the two had settled in their seats, Erica began the interview.

“Now which boy did you want to hear of first?” Asked Erica, even though she already knew the answer.

“Harry, if you wouldn’t mind” Said Mr Dursley. Well, that caught her off guard. She shuffled Harry’s report to the top of the pile.

“Well,” Erica hesitantly began, “Harry has made a major improvement over the past few months. He’s mainly achieving “A” grades, could improve more in maths, though. He’s been socialising with the other students more than he has in other years. Honestly, the only bad thing that I can say about him is that I’ve had to tell him to stop talking during class” said Erica, she tried to read the looks on the older couple’s faces for any trace of anger or annoyance. Surprisingly, the Durlseys’ looked rather proud and pleased. 

“Ah, well, that’s excellent, then.” Mrs Dursley started, “We’ve been trying to make Harry be a bit more social, we’ll tell him to quiet down a bit”  
What, by means of abuse?

“Ok then, so no more concerns about Harry?” The Dursleys shook their heads, “So Dudley is kind of a different story, um…” Erica didn’t know how to word this without them rushing straight to Headmaster Smith.

“Spit it out, girl!” Snapped Mr Dursley

“Uh, well, Dudley hasn’t been doing as well as Harry. He is achieving low marks in English, Mathematics, history and is barely scraping pass the other subjects, he is however quite good at sports but he does have to pass all subjects so that he doesn’t have to repeat” Erica read off her report, daring to glance up at the older couple sitting in front of her. Mr Dursley was attempting to keep calm, which is more of an effort than he made last year when he flat out abused her teaching methods and almost got her sacked. Mrs Dursley looked disappointed as any mother should, this interview was way too weird but she had to address all problems the family had anywhere where school was involved.

“And, his behaviour, has he- uh- improved at all?” Asked Mrs Dursley”

“Well, he had made some rude comments to me and some of his classmates and the incident from last month-

“-What happened last month?” Mr Dursley interrupted. Surely they would’ve known about it, they’re his parents.

“He somehow made Amanda Nottingham’s hair turn purple and orange after setting her uniform on fire” Erica explained, maybe Headmaster Smith didn’t inform them, after all the fire somehow disappeared right after Dudley set it.

“Why weren’t we informed about this?” Mr Dursley yelled.

“I filed a report with Headmaster Smith immediately after it happened, it’s up to him deal with punishment” Erica said trying to find the copy of the incident report, “Here, you can read it if you like, written straight after it happened. I’m not sure why Headmaster Smith decided not to punish Dudley, I was under the impression you were both informed. I’m sorry”

“There’s no need, it wasn’t your fault” said Mrs Dursley, “Is there anything else that you needed to tell us about either boy?”

“Only, that I’d recommend tutoring for Dudley, other than that, no” answered Erica.

“Thank you, Ms Daniels, are we able to talk to Headmaster Smith at all?” Said Mr Dursley as he and his wife stood up.

“Yes, he should be in his office” said Erica. She waited until the Dursleys were out of sight until she sighed.

What on Earth had happened to that family? They were actually nice in the three years that she had taught Dudley, they were nice to her, and they actually cared about Harry… What happened?... Well Erica shouldn’t pry, it’s good that they have finally had a change of heart.

A soft knock at the door distracted her from her thoughts. It was an elderly man, with long white hair and a beard to match; he was wearing half-moon spectacles over his light blue eyes whose sparkle she could see from where she sat. He was wearing a dark suit under a cloak. His appearance reminded Erica of the wizard, Merlin.

“Can I help you, sir?” She asked, perhaps he was a grandparent of one of the students.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Miss Daniels, I need to speak to you about two of your students” he said as he came closer into the room.

“I’m so sorry, sir, I cannot give you any information on any of my students unless you can prove to me that you are related to them” Erica explained. She felt something poke her mind as she looked into the old man’s eyes and waved it off, probably stress.

“Sorry, I’ve forgotten to introduce myself, I’m Mr Dumbledore, I’m the headmaster of the school Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley will be attending once they’ve left primary school” He said offering his hand. Erica took it hesitantly.

Dumbledore. Where have I heard that name before? I could’ve sworn Mary talk about him a few times… and of course the Dursleys would be involved with this … no, I can’t jump to conclusions 

“Please to meet you, Mr Dumbledore, but Harry and Dudley won’t be leaving until 1991, and under strict laws I cannot give you any information about these children” Said Erica, this Dumbledore guy was really creeping her out.

“Yes, I know, but I also need to know whether or not the two boys, uh, meet the standards of the school, so to say, usually they show signs around about this age” Said Dumbledore, his eyes piercing her brown ones. She just wished he went away, he had no idea what he was on about. Who would be ready for secondary school at age eight?

“I’m sorry, sir, but you will have to contact the boys’ guardians, I’m legally bound to protect my students and am not allowed to give any information without their guardians’ permission, I could lose my job otherwise” Erica explained once more, gosh this guy was worst than her own grandfather.  
“I’m sorry to have wasted your time, good evening, Miss Daniels” he said and walked out of the classroom.

Get him out of your mind… Get the Dursleys out of your mind… Get Harry Potter out of your mind… You cannot get involved in these peoples’ madness when you have your own to deal with 

When she had got home, however, the thoughts of Mr Dumbledore came back into her mind, was he behind the prodding she felt in her mind? 

“Mary, are you home?” Erica called out to her roommate.

“Yeah… what happened?” She asked when she saw her expression.

“Parent-teacher night” Erica answered.

“Parent-teacher night is not that bad,” said Mary, leading Erica into the kitchen. 

Erica then recounted the whole night from when the Dursleys arrived to when Dumbledore left in extravagant detail (so she thought). 

“Wait, the man’s name was Dumbledore, right?” Mary asked.

Was that the only thing she got from the weirdest night of my life?

“Yeah”

“Old guy, long white hair, long white beard, blue eyes, wears funny clothes”

“Yeah, Mary, please tell me where you’re going with this?” asked Erica. She was getting sick of being confused all the goddamn time, especially from Mary.

“I used to go to that school he’s headmaster at. He’s a bit kooky, but he’s manipulative. Those kids who are going to go there, have no choice but to because of reasons I can’t tell you- not yet, and they’re gonna be in a lot of trouble. And there’s nothing you can do about it, Erica, so just get it out of your head. They are not your kids and they can’t get out of it until they’ve finished school like I did,” Mary explained.

Erica wasn’t sure whether that reassured her or not. It just made her even more confused. So she couldn’t help Dudley or Harry at all… and why that school why couldn’t they just attend another school there are thousands in Britain. She put it at the back of her mind, after all, there was nothing she could do about it not while the boys were at immediate danger, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was just to delve in and see how the Dursleys and Harry have changed from an outsiders perspective, so Erica probably won't come back unless requested. Also thank you for the lovely reviews so far and don't be afraid to comment and suggest what you want to see in this story.


	5. The Best and Weirdest Birthday ever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I've haven't updated in ages. The only excuses I have really are that I've just finished my HSC exams (which are the last ever exams at high school so I can get into university) and that I've had serious writer's block and of course life in general is pretty chaotic at the moment, but I promise on Dobby's grave that I'm going to update more frequently. Thanks for sticking around guys and thank you for the lovely reviews

31st July 1989

It had been almost a year since the Dursleys had changed their attitude towards Harry, and he would’ve been lying if he said he didn’t love it. He lay in his bedroom thinking about the day that was about to occur, it would be the first birthday that the Dursleys will acknowledge. So Harry hoped.

There was always this nagging paranoia that Harry had that told him that the Dursleys’ sudden change of hearts was only temporary, that Dudley would go back to bullying him in a few hours or that Uncle Vernon would order him around like a slave and Aunt Petunia would just flat out ignore him. No matter how many times he told himself that it wouldn’t happen, that they had changed for the better, the thoughts just wouldn’t go away. 

Harry rolled over onto his side and put on his new rectangular glasses that Uncle Vernon had bought for him after the prescription expired for his circular ones. The analog clock red 8:30am. Harry sighed of relief, if the Dursleys were going to treat him like dirt again, they would’ve woken him up hours ago. He got dressed for the day and head downstairs to the living room, not expecting what awaited for him.

There was a massive pile of wrapped presents stacked in the centre of the living room, around five times more than what Dudley had received for his 9th birthday a month before. Harry couldn’t help but gape and looked over to his aunt and uncle, they both had genuine expressions of happiness of their faces, Dudley was laughing.

“Wha- h-how many are there?” Was all Harry could get out.

“Forty. Five for each year we’ve missed” Uncle Vernon answered.

“That is way too-

“Harry, you deserve it, and we’re trying to make it up to you for what we did” Said Aunt Petunia. Harry ran over to his guardians and hugged them both, and they reciprocated, which isn’t much of a surprise to Harry anymore, Aunt Petunia hugged him at any chance she got and Uncle Vernon did when Harry did something worth making the family proud, which was quite often these days with him being first in his grade, and also on special occasions. Dudley sniggered from the couch.

“Thank you” He mumbled into his aunt’s shoulder and let go of both his aunt and uncle. There was no point in saying that they didn’t have to do that, it was obvious that they were adamant to make him equal to Dudley.

“Well, if you don’t want some of these presents, I will happily take them off your hands” Said Dudley and winked at Harry.

It was easy to say that the family member Harry had grown closest to was Dudley. Over the past year they had became almost like brothers, especially after Dudley confessed that he wanted to be friends with Harry at the beginning of the school year. They would both defend each other if Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon caught them doing magic, they both played pranks on their classmates, particularly the likes of Amanda Nottingham and Samuel Kent who were probably the most stuck up, annoying brats in the school. Harry had also tutored Dudley in between the professional tutoring sessions that Aunt Petunia had scheduled after parent-teacher night. All in all the two boys had turned from enemies to best friends.

“Dudley” Uncle Vernon warned.

“It’s okay, dad, I’m only joking” said Dudley, he turned to his cousin, “You’d better hurry up, Blaise, Miku, Piers and Gordon will be here soon”

Harry walked to the centre of the room having no idea where to start, there was so many presents, he just hoped that they didn’t buy anything expensive. 

“You can open mine first, Harry, it’s the blue one over there” Said Dudley. Harry looked over to the badly wrapped present. It was obviously a ball of some sort. Harry smiled at his cousin, picking up his present.

“Thanks, Dudley”

He opened the present and sure enough it was a ball, it was initially transparent but when Harry picked it up it turned into mix of colours and then mainly turned into yellow and purple colour. Harry then looked at the note entangled within the wrapping paper

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!  
You’re probably thinking, what the heck is with this ball? So it’s a magic ball, I made it with magic with that book Mr Zabini gave us. Basically, what it does is show the emotions of other people around the person who’s holding it. I thought you would find it useful because your you’re always so worried whether mum, dad and I will go back to being total bastards, which we wont, I promise. And, who knows, it may also become useful in the future.   
From, you’re awesome and best cousin  
Dudley

P.S don’t tell mum and dad I used magic. We’re not supposed to until we’re eleven 

P.P.S Oh yeah, you will probably wanna know what the colours mean and they are all in relation to how they feel towards you  
Yellow: Happy, excited  
Red: Angry, that person hates you  
Blue: Sadness, depression   
Light green: The person likes you, and wants to be friends with you  
Dark green: Jealousy  
Pink: Somebody and Potter sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. But seriously if you’re holding it and it turns pink, someone has a crush on you  
Purple: family and friend type of love, they are fiercely protective of you  
Grey: They respect you  
White: calm, neutral feelings towards you

Harry looked up from the note and smiled at his cousin. It was perfect, and it relieved him to know that his family’s thoughts were genuine.

“Thanks” Harry repeated again

“Don’t mention it” replied Dudley, “Besides, mum and dad obviously want you to open their presents”.

Harry went through the next 30 presents wrapped in the traditional Dursley red wrapping paper that they had used for every occasion, he received about 10 books, a bicycle, new clothes, some toys. To say that Harry was ecstatic would be an understatement. After he unwrapped the last of the toys (a remote control car), Aunt Petunia took the last 9 presents wrapped in gold paper to Harry. Why would his aunt and uncle buy him more stuff? This was way more than enough. Petunia sat opposite him. Harry could not discern the expression on her face.

“Harry, these things belonged to your mother and father,” Aunt Petunia began, “Now I’m not a hundred percent sure what some of these things are but you deserve them” 

Harry took the first rectangular present and opened it. It was a green photo album with the initials L.E engraved in the cover. 

“That is probably one of the very few of these presents I can explain well,” Aunt Petunia began, “This was your mother’s scrapbook of her life that our mum and dad started when she was a baby, we both had one, mine’s probably lost in the attic, or something”

Harry flickered through the pages, his mother was beautiful, even as a child she had long auburn hair, dark emerald eyes, like his own and always seemed to have a permanent smile on her face. Harry would go through the album with his aunt in detail later.

He picked up the next present, again it was a photo album of some sort. However, this one had an unusual crest on its cover with the words “fortiter usque ad mortem” written underneath. He opened to a random page and saw a photo of four boys in black robes and red ties, a few things captured his attention. At first Harry thought he was seeing things but the photo was actually moving like actors in a movie, he gasped making Petunia jump.

“What’s wrong, dear?”

“The pictures are moving!” 

Dudley ran over to Harry’s side, obviously curious.

“Whoah, cool” Said Dudley.

“Yes, the magic world has moving pictures. I think there might be some in Lily’s scrapbook, Harry” Aunt Petunia explained. 

Harry looked back down at the photo, the second thing that caught his attention was the boy in the middle, lanky with wild, messy, black hair and wore rectangular glasses. He looked like an older version of Harry. Was that his dad? Aunt Petunia saw the look on Harry’s face.

“Yes, Harry, that’s your father, James. He looks a lot like you” Said Petunia. 

Harry looked at the other three boys each looking vaguely familiar. One was tall and had sandy coloured hair, he had a lot of scars on his face, the one next to him had long, dark, curly hair and was the most physical and vocal of the group from what Harry could tell, and the fourth boy looked very rat-like, he was short, round in stature, he had buck teeth and short blonde hair, he was obviously the underdog of the group. Harry looked up at his aunt for an explanation.

“Who are the other three?” He asked. Aunt Petunia gave a concerned look to Uncle Vernon.

“They were your dad’s friends. I’m sorry, Harry, I don’t know that much about them” said Aunt Petunia. 

“That’s okay, Aunt Petunia” said Harry. He set aside the book and opened the other one. It was a large book but it wasn’t a photo album or scrapbook, it was a textbook of some sort whose title read “Hogwarts: A History” 

“That was your mother’s copy. It magically adds new stuff as it’s written, you and Dudley will both attend Hogwarts in a couple of years” Aunt Petunia explained. Harry set the book aside, he would definitely look that over with Dudley later. He then picked up the smallest present, it was a tiny gold ball, as it lay in Harry’s hand its wings unravelled and started to flutter  
“What an interesting little object,” Said Uncle Vernon, edging closer to Harry, “But what on Earth is it?”

“I was thinking the same thing” said Dudley. They both looked at Aunt Petunia. Aunt Petunia was about to talk when the ball suddenly lifted off Harry’s hand and started flying around the living room. Harry jumped up, about five feet into the air and caught it, leaving his relatives in awe.

“Harry, what have we told you-

“Not to use magic, but it would’ve gotten away if I didn’t catch it. Sorry, Uncle Vernon” Said Harry. He looked back at the ball Dudley gave him which now showed mainly purple, he mentally sighed of relief.

“We’ll let you get away with it today, seeing as it is your birthday” said Uncle Vernon. Harry smiled at him.

“Aunt Petunia, do you know what it is?” Harry asked.

“I’m sorry, Harry, I don’t, I’ll see if I could get in contact with one of your mother’s friends” She answered. 

“That’s okay” Said Harry, he put the small, gold ball into a box that one of his other presents were in so that it didn’t fly away again and opened the next present. 

At first, Harry thought it was a blanket, however as he unfolded it, it looked more like a cloak, an ugly one of that.

“Why would your parents leave you some ugly red cloak?” Asked Dudley. Harry didn’t blame him for asking, there was all these cool, magical presents that he got and now having a piece of old fabric is kind of a disappointment, however, Harry would not complain, this belonged to his parents, perhaps it was some kind of heirloom. 

“Dudley” Aunt Petunia warned through gritted teeth. “Why don’t you put it on, Dear” She turned back to him. Harry wrapped the cloak around him and his body just disappeared. Aunt Petunia shrieked, Uncle Vernon almost fell off his chair and Dudley was just fascinated 

“Whoah! That is so cool, I take back what I said before, Harry” 

“I’m invisible!” Harry exclaimed. This was probably the most useful present his parents have gave him at the moment, his mind buzzed with all the pranks he could do on his classmates, what conversations he would overhear, what secrets he could find out.

“And, I think we’re going to have to take that off you for a while” Said Aunt Petunia, taking the cloak off her nephew. This made Harry anxious again. Was he in trouble? He looked over to the ball, yellow and purple, he knew this was for his own good but he didn’t agree to it

“Aw, why, Aunty Tuney?” Said Harry, this was the best way for him to get his aunt’s sympathy. Dudley rolled his eyes at him.

“Yeah, why Mum, it’s awesome, imagine the stuff we could do” Said Dudley.

“Exactly,” Said Aunt Petunia, “Harry, I’m sorry, I think you’re still a bit too young yet to use it properly. You could put yourself into danger, and I don’t want you to get hurt, none of us do. You understand, Harry?” 

Harry understood perfectly well, oh well, he would definitely use it when his aunt gave it back to him.

“Yes, Aunt Petunia, I don’t want to hurt anyone” Said Harry in a false sympathetic tone. He had learnt too much from his aunt.

“Good, now I have no idea what the other four are, Harry, it must have belonged to your father and I haven’t got a clue how to use them” Said Aunt Petunia gestured to the other four packages. “I know somebody who does. He was a friend of your mother. But he’s not willing to help you. Not yet, anyway” she explained. This made Harry even more confused.

“Why?” Harry asked. Aunt Petunia looked uncertain of what she should say next.

“Well, he and your mother had a massive fight from my understanding and besides you are far too young” Explained Aunt Petunia weakly. Well that kind of makes sense in some weird way.

“Harry, I think you should respect this man’s decision. He’ll help you when you’re both ready” Said Uncle Vernon. Harry smiled at him, it was amazing how much had changed in little over a year.

“C’mon, Harry, they’ll be here soon” Harry knew he was talking about Piers, Gordon, Blaise and Miku, Aunt Petunia had arranged for an outing to London Zoo.

“I’ll clean this up, Harry, you go put your presents away” Said Aunt Petunia. 

Harry ran upstairs to put his books and toys away and pocketed the ball Dudley had gave him. His, surprisingly, was the most useful to him at present. 

There was a knock at the door. The first of his friends had arrived. Harry bolted downstairs and opened the front door. It was Blaise 

“Hey, Harry, happy birthday!” He said and gave him a present wrapped in green wrapping paper

“Thanks, Blasie” Said Harry as he took the box from him.

“No problem. Hey, Dudley” He greeted as Dudley entered the room

“Hey, Blaise. What did you get Harry”

“It’s a surprise” Answered Blaise with a tone of mystery in his voice. Another knock on the door announced the arrival of another friend

“Yo, Harry open the door” called the voice of Piers 

“Yeah or Dudley, we just wanna come in” Added the voice or Gordon

Harry looked at Blaise and they both sniggered 

“Nobody’s home” said Blaise in a high pitched voice”

“Very funny, Blaise” Said Piers 

“Come on now, boys, let them in” Aunt Petunia walked into the room, “Hello, Blaise

“Good morning, Mrs Dursley- What, my mother always said to be nice and polite to people, especially your host” He added when he saw the expression on Dudley’s face 

“Your mother must be a very classy woman” said Aunt Petunia

“She is, Mrs Dursley” replied Blaise. Harry couldn’t help but roll his eyes and saw his cousin do the same, 

“C’mon let us in, Mrs Dursley” Called the voice of Piers 

“We’re starvin’” Added Gordon

Aunt Petunia opened the door with a slight smile on her face “Hello boys”

“Mornin’ Tuney” Said Gordon as he ran towards Harry. Piers copied him

“Happy Birthday, Potter” Said Gordon in his northern accent and gave him a disfigured, badly wrapped present. Harry looked up at the ginger and smiled 

“Thanks, Denver”

“Merry, very belated Christmas” Piers joked as he gave Harry his present. Dudley rolled his eyes at the Italian   
“God, you’re corny, Piers”

The boys huddled in the entrance foyer talking about how their summer was and fighting over football teams for about an hour until a petite knock was heard 

“That must be Miku, I’ll get it” Harry called to his aunt who was currently cooking his birthday lunch. 

Out of all of the friends he had made over the year, aside from Dudley, Harry considered Miku to be his closest friend. Both were initially shy, both were orphans (although Miku got adopted at the age of 2), both were outcasts until this year and they both had magic.

“Ohyaō, Miku” Harry greeted the small Japanese girl before him

“Hi, Harry” She said and walked in with Harry. The rest of the group had already migrated to the living room and were playing Mario Brothers on the Nintendo 

“Oh, Happy birthday” She said giving Harry a small, perfectly wrapped present unlike Gordon’s

“Thanks. How do you say Happy birthday in Japanese?” Harry asked, he liked learning about Miku’s culture, seeing as it was completely different from the British one

“Otanjōbiomedetōgozaimasu” said Miku very quickly

“O-tan-joo-bi-me-de- ugh forget it, Sorry Miku” Harry tried to pronounce

“It’s okay. I have a lot of trouble with English, so, I can’t really blame you for it”

“Mickey’s ‘ere! Hey Mickey, did ya bring some of ya mum’s sushi?” Gordon yelled from the living room his mouth full of food, as what Harry presumed 

“You have better English than Gordon” Said Harry, Miku smiled, “C’mon lets join the guys” Harry walked into the living room with Miku in tow.

“Oh, Potty has a girlfriend- ohhh” Piers started 

“I do not-

“Aw, little Harry bear has a wittle crush” Blaise added 

“Ew, why would you kiss girls, they’re gross” Gordon said his nose upturned away from Harry and Miku

“Harry and Miku sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g , first comes love, then comes marriage” Piers and Blaise sung. Dudley was now rolling around on the floor in front of the TV laughing his head off. 

Harry was starting to get anxious, were they bullying him? Was all of this a set up for a very cruel prank? Harry focused on breathing, trying not to cry. He couldn’t cry it would just give them something else to bully him about.

“Guys, cut it out” Said Dudley. He obviously saw Harry’s expression, he then mouthed “ball”.

Harry slapped himself mentally. He was about to cry over something and ruin his friendship when he could’ve just looked at the ball. Harry got the ball out of his pocket and it glowed a yellow, light green and purple. Harry sighed of relief 

“Harry, they were only, um, how do you say it? Joking?” Miku reassured him. Blaise seemed to have caught on 

“Yeah, we’re sorry, Harry. We didn’t mean to upset you” But Piers and Gordon were still giggling until Blaise elbowed Piers sharply in the ribs.

“Yep, very sorry” Said Piers

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience we have caused Mr Harrison Potter” Gordon said in an overly posh accent. And that is what made Harry burst out laughing, soon after the whole room was filled with laughter.

“What? Is it something I said” said Gordon in his posh accent with sarcastic innocence.

“What are you lot up to?” Called Aunt Petunia from the kitchen. Harry could tell by her tone that she was amused 

“Nothing, aunty Tuney” Harry said

“Bloody crawler, Potter” said Piers 

“Well lunch is ready if you all want it” Replied Aunt Petunia

Harry, Dudley, Piers and Gordon made a mad dash to the dining room and had already started stuffing their faces. But Blaise (being the gentleman that he was according to Aunt Petunia and Ms Daniels) let Miku in before him and sat her at the table

“God I foubt Hawi wa da crawer” Said Dudley as Blaise sat down next to Miku and Harry 

“Dudley, manners” Said Aunt Petunia sharply 

“Sorry, mum” Said Dudley after he swallowed a massive mouthful of chicken.

Blaise, Miku, Gordon and Piers left at 5pm that evening. Harry sighed as he sat down on the couch thinking through the day’s events, it was at that moment that Harry felt fully at peace at number 4 Privet Drive. For Harry, this was the weirdest and best birthday ever.


	6. Looking through the book

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back (after almost two years) I am so sorry about the lack of updating guys, I have been writing and rewriting these next few chapters for ages. I promise to keep updating more regularly. I've got more of an idea where I want this story to go now, and I really hope you guys enjoy the story as much as I like writing it.

3rd August 1989

Out of all forty nine presents he got, it was safe to say that Harry’s favourite presents were his parent’s old photo albums. He looked through them every day since his birthday, wondering what his parents were like. Did his dad like playing pranks like he did? Was his mum good at school like he was? Who were his dad’s friends? What were their names? What were they like? Who was the guy who had a fight with his mum? So many questions to ask and Aunt Petunia only knew the answers to a few of them. He looked at the photo of his dad and his friends again seeing if he could remember anything from his infant years.

A soft voice interrupted him from his thoughts. Aunt Petunia was standing in the doorway of his bedroom smiling at him.

“I could go through them with you now, if you’d like?” Petunia said and sat down on the bed beside him” 

“Yes, please” Said Harry. Petunia picked up his mother’s green scrapbook.

“Maybe we should start with your mum first, seeing as I know more about her than your dad”

“Ok”

The first page was obviously Lily as a toddler, probably around the age of three, Harry guessed. The picture was black and white (what would you expect, it was the 50s) She had a heart shaped face framed with long wavy hair, she was opening presents in front of 2 adults. 

“Your mother’s 3rd birthday” Aunt Petunia explained, “I was 7 at the time” Petunia pointed to a girl with, what Harry presumed, blonde hair pulled back into pig tails wearing a short dress with a poufy skirt and had a sour expression on her face.   
“That’s me” she said, “Not the best picture I have to admit”

“You look upset” Harry said studying the picture 

“I was jealous” Is all that Petunia said. Harry wanted to ask why but thought better of it. He shifted his gaze to the two adults 

“And them” She said pointing to the two adults behind Lily, “were my parents, Harold and Daisy, they were your grandparents” 

Harry could see the resemblance now, the woman, his grandmother had wavy hair and almond shaped eyes like Lily and his grandfather had a horse shaped like face and a bushy moustache that looked weirdly like uncle Vernon’s. He was smiling at his daughter. 

“Aunt Petunia, what happened to them?” Asked Harry. “Why haven’t I met them?”

Aunt Petunia’s eyes glazed over and looked at Harry.

“They died, not long before you were born” Said Aunt Petunia, her voice shaking.

“How?”

“A car crash” Answered Aunt Petunia.

“Are you being honest, Aunt Petunia” Asked Harry, somewhat intentionally calling her out on lying about how his parents died.

“This time I am, Harry, I promise” Said Aunt Petunia gaining her full voice back.

“I believe you” Said Harry

“Now, let’s look at the rest of the pictures” Aunt Petunia said looking back at the album.

The album had more pictures of Lily throughout her childhood, Petunia pointed out who her best friends were at school.

“That’s Agnes Hastings, her sister was a nasty piece of work, but Agnes was Lily’s best friend for a long time” She said pointing to a girl with dead straight black hair with buck teeth, “And that’s Rhonda, she said pointing to a chubby girl with blonde hair. I can’t remember her last name, she’s actually Vernon’s cousin we found out at your parents’ engagement party.

Harry turned the pages studying each picture with determination. In the photo saying Petunia’s 10th birthday, both Petunia and Lily were hugging and smiling, actually most of these pictures were like that. What changed?

“Aunt Petunia, were you and my mum friends or did you hate each other?” Harry asked, for the majority of his life, Petunia had always spoken ill of his mother but these pictures proved otherwise.

His aunt looked taken aback for a second but quickly recovered.

“We were each other’s best friends” Said Aunt Petunia, smiling sadly.

“But you just said that her best friend was Agnes Hastings?” Said Harry looking at his aunt quizzically.

“You can have more than one best friend, Harry, but there will always be one you’re closest with and for me that was Lily” She answered.

“What changed?” 

“I was jealous, she had magic and I didn’t” Said Petunia

“I’m sorry” said Harry

“It’s not your fault, Harry” said Aunt Petunia, “I was stupid and selfish girl” said Aunt Petunia

“You’re not stupid, aunty Tuney, you’re the smartest, kindest woman I know” Said Harry trying to make his aunt feel better.

“I wasn’t always kind, Harry, you know that” Said Aunt Petunia, Harry knew she felt guilty and she should but Harry learnt that forgiving people is better than building up anger. 

“But you’re better now” Said Harry and looked back down at the album. 

The next few pages were of Lily and Petunia growing up throughout the years and Lily with her friends. He listened to Aunt Petunia’s stories with interest taking in every word, it wasn’t until he got to a page where Lily was sitting next to a boy, roughly Harry’s age that he got instantly curious. The boy had long black hair and a hooked nose, his clothes were tattered and dirty and his eyes were as a black as a crow’s.

“Who’s he?” Asked Harry pointing at the boy, “That’s not my dad, right?” 

Petunia stifled a laugh “Goodness, no, his name’s Severus Snape, he went to school with your mother” 

“Severus Snape” Harry repeated quietly

“He’s the one that told your mother that she was a witch” Petunia explained now shifting uncomfortably beside Harry.

“What does he do now?” Asked Harry

“I’m sorry Harry I don’t know, this is when I stopped being friends with your mother” answered Petunia quickly, as if she were hiding something, but Harry decided to ignore it. 

“Because you were jealous”

“Exactly and I regret every minute of it” Aunt Petunia said sadly, “I can’t tell you much from this point but I’ll try” 

Harry understood, he had always been jealous of Dudley until a few years ago when the miraculous change occurred.

“Was he the one that had a fight with my mum?”

“Yes, he was” 

“Ah, that was your mother in her school uniform” Said aunt Petunia 

Harry hoped to god the uniform had changed in the 20 years since his mother had been there, she was wearing a weird, long, black cloak which had a gold crest on it, she was also wearing a grey sweater and a red and gold tie. 

“Do I have to wear that too?” Asked Harry with disgust. Petunia laughed.

“Yes except of the skirt of course, unless you want to wear the skirt”

“Aunt Petunia!” 

Aunt Petunia burst out laughing and Harry joined in, it was only when the two calmed down that Harry moved on. There weren’t that many photos after that, just of his mother in her uniform throughout her years at Hogwarts. Until there was a photo of a party. 

Lily was kissing a man, who Harry recognised as his dad and next to him was a man around the same age with curly shoulder length hair wearing a ridiculous tuxedo cheering the two on

“That was your parents at their engagement. 

“Cool, who’s that guy next to him in the funny jacket? He’s one of dad’s friends right? I recognise him from dad’s photo album” 

“I suppose so,” Petunia leaned in closer, “I’ve never- oh” 

“What?” Harry asked concerned, “Did I do something wrong?” Harry instantly started to worry again, this had been a good day, these past few years had been the best that Harry could remember and had he gone and messed it all up?

Petunia looked at Harry, a flicker of fear across her face.

“What-oh, oh, oh, no, sweetheart, no, you’ve done nothing wrong, but this man has”

“What did he do? Who was he? You said you never met him” 

I didn’t recognise him before, I’ve met him once or twice, his name is Sirius Black-

“Sirius Black” 

“Harry, Sirius Black is a criminal, he murdered quite a few people, the same night as your parents died” Aunt Petunia explained hesitantly. 

“Oh” Said Harry, so his dad was friends with a murderer, did that mean that his dad was a murderer as well? Would that mean he’d become one too?

“Harry, as much as I didn’t like your father, he wasn’t a bad man, and neither are you” Said Aunt Petunia as if she read Harry’s thoughts. 

“Really?” 

“Really”

Harry looked back at the picture, this man didn’t look like a criminal, just a man with no fashion sense.

“Harry”

“ I wanna meet him” Harry said suddenly, this may be his only chance to get any answers 

“Harry, I preferred if you didn’t-

“Maybe he could tell me stuff I don’t know, more than this Snape guy. Heck Snape might tell me the wrong things because he fought with my mum”

Petunia sighed.

“Please, Aunty Tuney?, “Harry pleaded, “Just one letter, you can write to people in prison, I’ve seen it on t.v” 

“Harry, the wizarding world is very different to this one” Aunt Petunia started to explain 

“Yes”

“And I didn’t realise he was a wizard until today”

“And?” 

“He is a very bad man, Harry” 

“He can’t be any worse than Voldemort” Said Harry, hoping that that was true 

“Alright, write the letter and I’ll talk to Snape about it, he may be willing to help

“Yay, thanks, Aunty Tuney” Harry said and hugged his aunt. 

“I’m sorry Harry, I can’t really tell you much more than what I already have” 

“That’s okay, maybe this Sirius Black can tell me stuff. You’ve been awesome, Aunt Petunia, the best aunt ever!” Said Harry as he put the albums back under his bed. Petunia, stood up and smiled.

“Anything for you, Harry” She said and walked out. 

Harry was too excited to do anything else, he grabbed his notebook and pencil and started writing. 

“What should I say?” “Oh I know”

Harry sat at his desk for hours writing pages to this Sirius Black, hoping for answers about his parents and the wizarding world. It was almost dinner time before he finished. 

“Aunt Petunia, I’ve finished the letter” Said Harry running into the kitchen

“What letter?” Asked uncle Vernon

“A letter to one of my father’s friends” Answered Harry and handed the pages over to his uncle”

“Sirius Black?!” Vernon shouted making Harry cower slightly

“Petunia! How could you let him, this man is a mass criminal!” he shouted, “I knew he was one of them I knew it! Didn’t I tell you!” 

“Dad!” Dudley shouted, “You’re making Harry scared” 

“Oh-oh, no Harry. I’m only worried because he could hurt you. I’m sorry” Vernon quietened down

“And you should’ve not called him “them lot” because we’re part of it too” Said Dudley

“You’re right, Dudley, I’m sorry”

 

“Vernon, Harry needs answers and we can’t give them to him” Aunt Petunia explained.

“Get that man that was your sister’s friend, he can tell him everything” Uncle Vernon waved her off 

“Vernon, he’s in a wizard prison, he can’t hurt us” 

Vernon looked as though he was thinking hard, Harry prayed that he would say yes, just to this one letter

“Fine, but just this one letter”

“Yay, thank you uncle Vernon!” Harry said and ran over to hug his uncle

“I’ll try and find Snape tomorrow” Said Aunt Petunia, “Now eat your dinner”


	7. Spinner's End

Severus Snape sat in front of his fireplace, rereading his assigned potions text for next year’s first years to see where this “potioneer” had gone wrong. It was a sad existence for the man nearing his thirties, a dead end job, no family and in service to two of the most powerful wizards in known history. 

He knew that Voldemort was still around, if he weren’t then Dumbledore wouldn’t make him Harry’s guardian angel. He had put his love of his life in danger all for some stupid prophecy, he wished he never told Voldemort, wished that he could go back and get Lily out of danger, wished he never called her a mudblood. 

But that was the past and as much as Severus wished, he could never change it, only redeem himself from his mistakes and if that meant protecting Harry Potter and acting as a double spy then so be it. 

“Not enough essence of dittany and too much lavender, who wrote this, Gilderoy Lockhart?” Snape mumbled to himself making the correction in the book. A knock on the door distracted him from his thoughts, he grabbed his wand and walked to the door.

“I swear if it’s those Jehovah’s Witnesses they’ll be meeting Jesus much sooner than they think” He drawled.

He opened the door, and Severus would be lying if he said that he wasn’t shocked, even if his face didn’t show it.

“Petunia Dursley, what a pleasant surprise” Said Snape, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Petunia hadn’t seemed to have changed much in the last decade or so since they last met. Her hair was still in the same shoulder length style that it was in when he first met her and still had the same snobbish expression, but something was different, other than the fact that she has aged. 

“Severus, lovely to see you again” Petunia greeted him curtly.

Severus was sure that wasn’t true.

“What can I do for you, Mrs Dursley?” Snape asked, trying to keep civil as possible. Why on Earth would this muggle bug him now almost a decade after her sister’s death.

“You may not know but, Lily’s son, Harry is under my care” Petunia started to explain. Severus tried his best not to groan, Harry wasn’t due to start Hogwarts for another few years does he really have to take responsibility now?

“Yes, I’m well aware of your nephew’s housing arrangement, now get to the point” Severus said not meaning to sound as annoyed as he was.

“He wants to know about his parents, about your world” 

This definitely took the wizard by surprise. Petunia Evans Dursley asking about the wizarding world, what’s next Voldemort trying to unite the wizarding and muggle worlds?

“Come in” Severus offered reluctantly letting the older woman walk pass. 

He didn’t care what Petunia thought of the state of the place, he always knew what she thought of him and his family which is what made him try to make a tree fall on her in the first place. She never knew how fortunate she was. How fortunate she still is.

“I always wondered what this place looked like,” she began, “It looks different to what I expected” 

“And what were you expecting, Mrs Dursley?” Severus said defensively, catching the muggle off guard.

“I was thinking it was going to be more of a shack than an actual house” She muttered.

“Well, sorry to disappoint you” Said Severus and offered her a seat. 

“You’re being weirdly polite, Severus” Said Petunia as she sat down, “Well more polite than you used to be” she added.

“I can treat you like dirt if you want me to” Snape snapped back at her. 

“No, no, I just didn’t expect it from you, especially because of your father-

How does she know about him? Oh wait that’s right she was the town gossip, nothing went on in this town that Petunia Evans didn’t know of.

“Would you like a drink?” Severus said, purposefully changing the subject

“Yes please, if you don’t mind”

Severus summoned two waters with his wand and handed one to Petunia. Surprisingly, Petunia didn’t flinch. This was a day full of surprises for Severus Snape.

“Now what does your nephew want to know exactly?” Severus asked, this was going to be a long and boring conversation. 

“Oh, um, mainly about your world and about his parents” Petunia began. 

Snape was brought back to his tormented school days where the “Marauders” bullied him, where Lily disregarded him, where he was first introduced to the dark arts, days he didn’t want to live especially for James Potter’s son.

 

“I’m afraid I can’t tell him anything that great about his father or his father’s friends, but your sister was a kind and friendly woman, she saw the good in others when they couldn’t see it themselves”

“Like that day at the park” Petunia interrupted 

“Yes” Severus agreed, “Why all the interest now, I thought you hated magic”

“Well” She shifted uncomfortably, “My son, Dudley, he has magic too” 

That was unexpected.

“I see and now you want Harry to have the best life possible”

“I owe that to Lily, I see that now, I’ll admit I haven’t been the kindest woman when Harry first came under our care but Vernon and I have seen the error of our ways”

Severus tried not to laugh, or to use legimancy, this was just too unbelievable, Petunia wanting the best for Harry, she hated Lily for years and now her son has magic and everything is just fine and happy. Severus was surprised that she didn’t just use both boys as slaves.

“Anyway, Harry has the right to know about your world and I think this will help him”

“You want me to talk to him?” 

“No, Harry understands that you left things difficult with Lily but what about Sirius Black?”

Severus almost chocked on his drink. Sirius Black! Is this woman insane? 

“Petunia, are you sure you’re not out of your mind? Sirius Black is a mass murderer and there’s more to this story than you know” Said Severus 

“Do you really believe that a man who was James’ best friend and from what I’ve heard, godfather to Harry would betray him?”

“Where did you hear that?

“A letter Lily wrote around the time Harry was born, I ignored it but I kept it, it said that James’ friend, Sirius was to be Harry’s godfather” Petunia explained. 

Severus thought about it for a moment then a flicker of memory came across and a sudden realisation dawned on him that if Sirius was a traitor then he would’ve seen him at least once at death eater meetings, but he didn’t, the only person he saw that was close to James was Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew framed Black. But of course, Severus couldn’t be sure of that. Not until he investigated himself, away from Dumbledore.

“Severus?” Petunia’s voice snapped Severus back into reality.

“Sorry? Oh, yes, I don’t believe that Black would betray the Potters intentionally but right now, your nephew’s safety is paramount”

“Severus, please, this is a boy who just wants to know about his parents, I told him all I can about his mother and Sirius could tell him about his father. Is there a way you can get this letter to him?” Petunia handed a bundle of papers to him.

Severus skimmed through the letter. He seemed like an intelligent boy, using words beyond first year level, they were mainly questions about Hogwarts and his parents as Petunia had said, heck even Severus could answer these questions without any bias. Severus put the papers on the table in front of him and Petunia.

“Sirius Black is in a wizard prison called Azkaban-

“Yes, I remember the story you told me, scared Lily and I half to death”

“Azkaban isn’t like your muggle prisons where we can send letters, but I can ask an auror to deliver these letters to Black, I’ll just have to block any tracing charms” he said grabbing his wand to perform the charms

“Auror? Tracing charms?” Petunia asked.

Merlin, this woman didn’t know anything. Yet again she is a muggle.

“Aurors are the wizard equivalent of the police force and-“ Severus stopped himself 

“and?” 

“Do you still have that letter Dumbledore gave with Harry”

“No we burnt it” Said Petunia.

“Do you remember what it said?”

“That we can’t abandon Harry because-

“Exactly”

“They’re still out there? Voldemort’s people?”

“They are but they’re not active, they won’t do anything until Voldemort comes back- IF he comes back”

“So they’re after him? They’re after my Harry” Said Petunia sudden realisation dawning on her face. 

Wow, she really did care for the boy after all.

“They won’t be back any time soon, Petunia, I wouldn’t worry” Said Severus in his usual emotionless tone. 

“You can say that! He’s not your nephew! He’s not your responsibility! He-he’s just a child, a child that’s been through enough!” Petunia said, trying not to sob. Merlin, this was awkward.

“I’m sorry, Petunia”

“Promise me something, Severus” Petunia said through sobs

Oh, Merlin, here we go. Not again.

“Depends on what it is” Severus said handing the woman a handkerchief.

“Oh- thank you,” She took the cloth and dabbed her eyes, “Promise me that, you’ll protect Harry and Dudley from these people, whoever they are. Please” 

Severus looked at her, that’s what had changed, she had compassion and love, similar to her sister’s fierce and unwavering.

“And yet you want me to send this letter to a man who could hurt Harry”

“Well, he’s in that wizard prison, isn’t he? He can’t get out without all those demented thingies sucking out his soul”

“Very well, I’ll see what I can do” He said and put Harry’s letter into his cloak pocket.

“Thank you”

“And as for that promise, I’ll try but that won’t start until they start at Hogwarts, I can’t very well leave in a middle of a lesson because your nephew got into a fight with his next-door neighbour”.

“Fair enough, thank you, Severus, I best be leaving, it’s getting late. Thank you for your hospitality” Said Petunia as she stood up

“My pleasure, Mrs Dursley” Said Severus and this time he said it with half sincerity.

He walked the woman to the front door and watched her leave.

What had he done? Made a promise he possibly couldn’t keep? Even though it was the same as his promise to Dumbledore. Severus sighed and went back to editing the assigned textbook, the new school year seemed so far away.


End file.
